Brooklyn Poem by Cecil (cj) Krieger

I remember Brooklyn
Long ago
When cars still had runners
Milk and eggs were delivered
To the front door milk box
Occasionally horse drawn carts
Would trot down the street
With a man shouting out
Sharpener!
Get your knives sharpened here
And people would run out
And line up to wait their turn

A few miles away
There were still farms
Where you could buy
Fresh fruit and vegetables
Family was just a walk away
While on many Sundays
We would all get together
To share food, stories and friendship
But that was long ago
When I think about it these days
It almost seems like a story
That I might have read
In an old book
Very, very surreal

Late at night
My sister and I would crawl out
On the second floor flat roof
To see the stars and sing
As the cool night breezes
Danced over us
While we’d watch
All the neighborhood stores
Shut off their lights
As the world turned dark
And the stars brightened
With each store that closed
For the night

These days
There are no stars to see
In Brooklyn